OSCE chief monitor says situation around Ukraine's Shirokino will be settled within days

The first meeting of the Contact Group’s subgroup on security was held in Moscow on Tuesday

MINSK, May 19. /TASS/. The situation around the settlement of Shirokino located at the line of engagement in eastern Ukraine will be settled within days, Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ertugrul Apakan said on Tuesday after a meeting of the Contact Group’s security subgroup.

In his words, the meeting was positive and useful. He said the subgroup had discussed a number of security issues, including the situation in Shirokino. The sides had similar positions on that matter, he said and expressed the hope the situation would be finalized within days.

According to Apakan, another meeting had been planned, which he said he hoped would be positive too.

The first meeting of the Contact Group’s subgroup on security was held in Moscow on Tuesday.

A 13-point Package of Measures on implementation of the September 2014 Minsk agreements adopted on February 12, 2015 after 14-hour negotiations between the leaders of the Normandy Four (Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko) in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk in particular included an agreement on cessation of fire from February 15, withdrawal of heavy armaments, as well as measures on long-term political settlement of the situation in Ukraine, including establishment of working subgroups as priority tasks.

The subgroups focus on four areas: economic issues and restoration of facilities; refugees, internally displaced persons and humanitarian assistance; political issues; security issues.